2019-04-01 World Soccer

their care of duty and you

have the dream prospectus.

Their USP well-established,

they are very much at the

front of the queue for talent.

Lyon, having been forced

into something of a self-

sufficiency regime by

the construction of a new

stadium and the Qatari state

takeover at Paris Saint-

Germain, in many ways

represent the best of

the “springboard club” thinking.

Their academy has been deemed

France’s best for six straight years and

they have a wonderful record of churning

of screens and opportunities galore to

monitor games all around the world.

All the best overseas talent-spotting

programmes tend to have a particular

geographical focus. Porto have an

excellent track record in Brazil, Argentina

and Colombia; Dutch champions PSV

love their South American/Hispanic

know-how; Bayer Leverkusen in Germany

have their Brazilian connection; Ajax are

a home-from-home for Scandinavians;

while for colonial and linguistic reasons,

French clubs never tire of dipping into

the African reservoir.

Dortmund and other Bundesliga sides

increasingly see England as the place to

pan for gold, while equally attractive is

Greater Paris, where French

and overseas scouts are

thick on the ground. Chelsea,

for example, are highly active

in this area.

Porto, Lyon and Dortmund

did not simply wake up one

day and declare themselves

five-star diamond-polishers.

They had to prove it to the

outside world over a period

of time, tempting would-

be recruits with excellent

training facilities, educational schemes,

a tangible pathway to the first team and

Champions League action. Factor in the

extra mile they are prepared to go in

P

ioneers in turning cheap

South and Central American

youngsters into sell-on manna

from heaven, FCP have the

import-export business down to a tee.

Over the last 10 full seasons, they have

maintained a remarkable balancing act.

On the one hand, they have racked up

net profits of €282million from transfer

dealings. On the other, they have kept

their competitive pre-eminence, with

five Portuguese league titles, three

domestic cups, the Europa League and

six appearances in the knockout stage

of the Champions League.

Porto’s former director of sport, Antero

Henrique - who currently is employed by

Paris Saint-Germain - summed up the

club’s modus operandi in an interview

with France Football magazine, explaining:

“Porto’s success is founded on three

factors: recruitment, development and

yield. Recruitment means scouting,

development follows on from training and

productivity is linked to the first-team

performances of a player.

“Most players are young when they

arrive at this club and they end up being

in permanent training.”

Here is a well-oiled system in every

sense, though Porto have been fortunate

too, especially with regard to Portuguese

league regulations regarding

foreign players. In contrast to

most European leagues, there

is no limit on non-EU players

in the Primeira Liga. As long

as Porto and others have eight

individuals raised locally, the

lights are green for go.

Porto currently have 13

Latin Americans – mainly from

Brazil but also a smattering of

Mexicans and Uruguayans –

on their books.

Such an influx of talent from

SPECIAL FEATURE

James Rodriguez

bought €7m from Banfield

sold €45m to Monaco

Hulk

bought €5m,

sold €40m to Zenit

Radamel Falcao

bought €5.43m from River Plate

sold €40m to Atletico Madrid

Andre Silva

bought €0m

sold €38m to Milan

Jackson Martinez

bought €8.8m from Jaguares

sold €35m to Atletico Madrid

Danilo

bought €13m from Santos

sold €31.5m to Real Madrid

Ricardo Carvalho

€0m

sold €30m to Chelsea

the Americas would not be possible

elsewhere in Europe. France’s Ligue 1, for

example, only allows four non-EU players

per squad. In Spain’s Liga, only three are

permitted in a match-day roster.

It also has to be remembered that not

all of Porto’s player trading returns went

directly into the club coffers. For many

years, they took full advantage of third-

party ownership (TPO) arrangements,

sharing the original outlay on recruits

with various external investment groups.

Following a big-money sale, the profits

had to be divided.

With FIFA opting to ban TPOs in May

2015, the onus is now on the likes of

Porto to find another way to express

their marketplace savvy.

Big dividend...

James Rodriguez

Ideas...Antero

Henrique

Young stars...Lyon’s

youth team

PORTO